Lucinda Williams: West

MUCH IS MADE of Lucinda Williams the writer, the poet of southern aches and pains. Time magazine called her "America's Best Songwriter" and the New Yorker devoted thousands of words to the testy perfectionism that delayed the release of 1998's galvanising Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. The fact that Williams is the daughter of a (relatively) famous poet has always distinguished her from other alt.Americana types on the Lost Highway of credible country rock.